Yesterday, I offered some analysis in praise of a GOP gubernatorial candidate who ran a spirited and important race, and who really helped his party, despite losing. Let's talk about another GOP gubernatorial candidate who won: Georgia's incumbent Governor, Brian Kemp. It's true that governors and incumbents generally did exceptionally well on Tuesday, so Kemp's victory may not stand out. But his political achievement deserves special recognition. Kemp prevailed four years ago by a very tight margin, after which his opponent famously refused to concede. She went on to become a national Democratic star, casting doubt on the legitimacy of his governorship, alongside all the leading lights of her party, for virtually his entire first term.
As the sitting governor, he faced ferocious opposition at every turn, with Democrats blistering him over his COVID policies (which he ended up running on a few years later), and his push for common-sense voting reforms in the state. You're probably familiar with that story: Screeching about 'Jim Crow' from the president on down. Corporate condemnations and boycotts. A blizzard of lies and hyperventilation. It was all noisy nonsense, and Kemp kept his nose to the grindstone and endured. His approach proved popular. As he fought against the endless slanders and calumnies from the Left, he also faced an angry, vengeful agitator on the Right, and a very powerful one at that. Former President Donald Trump was furious with Kemp for refusing to go along with the 2020 'stop the steal' charade in Georgia, and targeted him with intense abuse in order to punish his perceived disloyalty, going so far as to recruit a primary challenger to unseat him.
Even a lot of Kemp allies were very nervous about what would come next, and some reportedly counseled him to bail. This article explained how Kemp resisted the panic and set out on a course to survive. He executed it flawlessly. He never caved to Trump, but was preternaturally disciplined about not alienating the vast majority of Trump's legions of supporters. He didn't flinch in the face of pressure, whether it came from Trump or the Democrats. Ultimately, he won his primary by a smashing blowout margin, sailing to re-nomination. Next, he faced a rematch with his nemesis, a progressive celebrity with bottomless cash backing her efforts. His administration beat her backward-looking election lawsuit like a drum, in a thorough judicial drubbing at the hands of an Obama-appointed federal judge. And then his campaign beat Stacey Abrams in the election so definitively that even she couldn't avoid conceding. No word on whether she offered a two-fer when she phoned the governor to admit defeat.
He won by eight points on Tuesday, with coattails not quite robust enough to get Herschel Walker into the endzone in the Senate race. That runoff will occur on December 6. I have conflicting thoughts on how it might go, with various possible scenarios, but my bottom line is: My guess is as good as yours, and some outside factors could prove decisive. More on that race to come. I'll leave you with reality's final repudiation of the 'Jim Crow suppression' smear that Kemp has now defeated in more ways than one:
Georgia saw record turnout this election — with voters casting more than 2.5 million in-person and absentee ballots before the last day of voting. https://t.co/NG95BE9VoZ
— NPR (@NPR) November 9, 2022
I'll leave you with this theory, which is at least arguably true:
If not for Brian Kemp’s fortitude in facing down a nasty Trump-backed primary challenge — a risk Doug Ducey, Chris Sununu, and Larry Hogan wouldn’t take — Stacey Abrams would probably be governor-elect of Georgia this afternoon
— Allahpundit (@allahpundit) November 9, 2022